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HMP YOI Feltham IMB Annual Report 2015 -16

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Annual Report HMP YOI FELTHAM

January 2017

This report by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for HMP YOI Feltham covers the period from 1st November 2015 to 31st October 2016


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INTRODUCTION TO THE REPORT

This report presents the findings of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP YOI Feltham

for the period 01/11/2015 – 31/10/2016. IMB evidence comes from observations made on

visits, scrutiny of records and data, informal contact with prisoners and staff, surveys and

prisoner applications.

1 STATUTORY ROLE OF THE IMB

1.1 The Prisons Act 1952 and the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 require every

prison and IRC to be monitored by an independent Board appointed by the Home

Secretary from members of the community in which the prison or centre is situated.

1.2 The Board is specifically charged to:

- satisfy itself as to the humane and just treatment of those held in custody within its

prison and the range and adequacy of the programmes preparing them for release

- inform promptly the Secretary of State, or any official to whom he has delegated

authority as it judges appropriate, any concern it has

- report annually to the Secretary of State on how well the prison has met the standards

and requirements placed on it and what impact these have on those in its custody

- to enable the Board to carry out these duties effectively, its members have right of

access to every prisoner and every part of the prison and also to the prison’s records.


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2 CONTENTS

1. Statutory role of IMB 2

2. Contents 3

3. Description of the prison 4

4. IMB equality statement 4

5. Report on Feltham A 5

6. Report on Feltham B 6

7. Executive summary 7

8. Particular issues requiring a response from the Minister 9

9. Particular issues requiring a response from the YJB 9

10. Particular issues requiring a response from NOMS 9

11. Equality and inclusion 10

12. Education, learning and skills 11

13. Purposeful activity 15

14. Resettlement 16

15. Healthcare and mental health 17

16. Safer custody 18

17. Segregation, care and separation 19

18. Residential services 21

19. Prison maintenance 23

20. Property 24

21. Board development 24

22. Board statistics 25


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3 DESCRIPTION OF THE PRISON

3.1 HMP YOI Feltham is situated in West London, close to Heathrow Airport. The

prison is made up of two parts: Feltham A which holds young people aged 15 to 17 and

Feltham B which holds young adults aged 18 to 21.

3.2 Throughout this report the term young person/people (YP) has been used to

refer to prisoners aged 15-17 on Feltham A. The term young adult (YA) has been used to

refer to prisoners aged 18-21 on Feltham B. Where comments refer to both Feltham A and

B, the term young people/adults is used.

3.3 The establishment serves some London courts and holds young people and young

adults from a wide catchment area across the south of England.

3.4 The Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) is 768. Due to the temporary closure

of some units for refurbishment over the year the operational CNA is currently 560.

3.5 Feltham A holds young people who may be on remand, convicted or sentenced.

The roll has remained static at approximately 150 for the second year running.

Accommodation is predominantly in single occupancy rooms with integral sanitation

facilities. There is one first night/induction unit on Bittern and five further residential units.

3.6 Feltham B holds young adults who are all sentenced prisoners. Feltham B

comprises nine residential units, each with the capacity to accommodate up to 56 Young

Adults. Cells are mainly single occupancy with a small number offering double occupancy.

All cells have integral sanitation facilities. All units operate the IEP scheme. New arrivals

are placed initially on Kingfisher, the induction unit.

3.7 The principal contracted providers at Feltham are Novus and Prospects for

education, Care UK for healthcare and Carillion for maintenance and upkeep.

4 IMB EQUALITY STATEMENT

4.1 The IMB does not discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone because of age,

disability, gender reassignment, marital and civil partnership status, pregnancy and

maternity, race including colour nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, sex

and sexual orientation, in recruitment, in the treatment of members, and in the way it

monitors the treatment of people in custody.


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5 REPORT ON FELTHAM A

5.1 Two residential units on A Side have remained closed this year, primarily to address

the problem of staff shortages but also in response to the overall reduction of the Young

People’s estate nationally.

5.2 There has been a consistent senior management team running Feltham A

throughout the reporting period which has provided strong leadership and a good level of

support for staff. They are gradually bringing a sense of stability to this side of the prison

during a period of great change.

5.3 It has been clear to the Board that the proposed increase in educational provision to

30 hours per week under the Transforming Youth Custody (TYC) initiative was not

practicable or sustainable. A more realistic target of 22.5 hours per week for Feltham has

now been proposed and is awaiting confirmation from the YJB and the MoJ.

5.4 The Board were deeply frustrated to learn that the new enhanced support unit

(ESU) and a new care and separation unit (CSU), both of which were specifically designed

to meet the needs of this younger age group were not going to be funded after all by the

YJB. This was a huge disappointment to all concerned and prolongs the deeply

unsatisfactory problem of disruptive YPs being placed on the same segregation unit with

disruptive YAs. Senior management had put a great deal of time and effort into developing

the resources behind these two specialist units as well as appointing experienced staff to

run them.

5.5 Violent incidents remained high throughout the year and staff have needed to

implement increasingly creative management strategies to help ensure the safety of all YPs

and staff on Feltham A. It had been hoped that the proposed specialist ESU and CSU units

would help alleviate this very serious problem and allow all YPs to receive a fairer and

more humane regime on their residential units.

5.6 Typically, an A Side unit with a roll of 24 YPs will have as many as ten on ‘Basic for

Violence’ (BV) with up to six on single unlock for their own protection or the safety of others

on the unit. The consequence of this is that staff face an enormous challenge to deliver

normal regime to all prisoners on the unit. It is often very difficult for Enhanced level

prisoners to be afforded the privileges that they have earned and should be entitled to.

5.7 There was a delay in the implementation of Minimising and Managing Physical

Restraint (MMPR) technique across Feltham A and it was not finally introduced until the

beginning of October 2016. This had been caused by the legal implications of staff

deployment across the split site prison. Early feedback from the MMPR team is that it is

going well and the technique has been used to safely control 53 violent incidents during the

month of October.


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5.8 Carillion, the repair and maintenance contractor, continues to be a source of

frustration around the prison. One of the ongoing problems throughout the reporting period

on the A Side has been the inefficient and limited provision of all types of clothing and

equipment for YPs and staff alike.

.6 REPORT ON FELTHAM B

6.1 Several units have been closed during the past year. Teal unit has been closed for

almost two years due to a serious problem with the roof which the Board understands

would be extremely expensive to repair. Currently Lapwing and Osprey units are also

closed, although not due to structural issues.

6.2 There are other areas of Feltham B which have, or are still requiring repairs, for

example the bag search area which is very damp. Carillion, which holds the maintenance

contract, employs a process for getting repairs done which is longwinded and difficult,

meaning essential work takes far longer to be done than it should.

6.3 The Board received an average of 23 applications per month from prisoners. They

cover a broad range of topics. During the reporting period a large number have related to

disciplinary matters and staff attitudes towards prisoners and an even larger number have

related to property that has gone missing during transfer from another establishment. An

inordinate amount of time is spent trying to locate missing property, both by Board

members and prison staff.

6.4 Staffing has been a persistent problem on Feltham B, particularly over the summer

months. Feltham B remains under-staffed with ongoing vacancies at the time of reporting.

The lack of prison staff has had a serious impact on the regime. On some days both

Education and Workshops were cancelled at very short notice and on other occasions no

healthcare could be offered due of lack of escorting staff. Prisoners due for release have

sometimes had to wait a long time before staff were provided to cover the reception area.

6.5 Wren, the healthcare, mental health and detox unit, has also had problems, with

clinical staff advising the Board that there were not enough trained prison officers to

properly cover the unit on a regular basis. The deployment of non-unit based staff on Wren

can prove disruptive for residents, some of whom are difficult cases and respond far better

to regular, familiar staff.

6.6 The Board has been concerned by the continuing number of violent incidents and

assaults on both prisoners and staff. The level of violence on the B side does once again

seem to be increasing and several incidents have led to officers being taken to hospital

with, in some cases, very serious injuries. The ensuing periods of necessary sick leave

further add to low staffing levels and poor morale.


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6.7 The appropriate allocation of cells on Feltham B can be difficult, partly due to the

limited number of places now available. Over the past year, the Board has monitored

prisoners who have had to spend longer on the induction unit than necessary whilst waiting

for space to come available on a residential unit. This issue is exacerbated by the number

of ‘keep aparts’ in the prison, making it harder to locate certain individuals to residential

units due to issues with other prisoners.

7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Most of the issues raised in this executive summary have been highlighted in

previous years. The Board’s ongoing concerns about levels of violence, segregation

and staffing levels at the prison are similar to those mentioned in last year’s report

and in previous years.

7.1 Violence

The Board remains very concerned about the level of violence at Feltham. Fights and

assaults continue to be very common, occurring almost daily. Multi-perpetrator assaults

and targeted assaults on staff, which often result in serious injury, are particular causes for

concern. There is a genuine concern for the safety of prisoners and staff on a day-to-day

basis. The Board is aware of the difficulties facing the prison management and staff when

so many young men have gang affiliations and histories of violence. The Board recognises

the efforts made by all levels of staff generally, and through specialist teams such as the

Safeguarding Group and the Anti-Social Behaviour Team. The recent introduction of

MMPR on A-side is a welcome move and the Board hopes that it will soon be extended to

B-side.

7.2 Staff shortages

Low staffing levels continue to affect the operation of the prison especially with the

movement of prisoners to education, workshops, healthcare, legal visits, and family visits.

The cancellation, often at short notice, of education classes and workshops is now

commonplace. When staffing levels are low, the normal daily regime on the residential units

is undoubtedly affected and increases the risk of violence. One of the consequences of

fewer staff doing more is that there is less time available for unit officers to spend

interacting with prisoners. There is no doubt that the better the prisoners get to know their

unit staff the greater the mutual trust.

7.3 Segregation

The Ibis unit (CSU) is the only segregation unit in the prison and continues to house both

YAs and YPs together, which the Board regards as unacceptable. It is worthy of note that

although Removed from Unit (RFU) is no longer available as a punishment for YPs, the use

of Good Order or Discipline (GOoD) means that on a typical day there will be more YPs

confined on Ibis than YAs. This is the more remarkable considering that A-side has a much


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lower population than B-side, and no doubt reflects the particularly difficult nature of some

young prisoners on A-side. However, it is dismaying that so many young people spend time

in an adult-style segregation unit. Detailed plans for the Enhanced Support Unit (ESU) for

A-side prisoners have been being defined and refined by the YJB for over three years now

and the case for such a unit could hardly be stronger or more necessary. It is therefore

deeply troubling that, despite so many assurances from the YJB there is still no firm

agreement for the establishment of an ESU at Feltham.

7.4 Property

The problem of loss of property for prisoners transferring between establishments, or

coming straight from court, is a national one and should be a cause for great concern at the

highest level. There is no doubt that the distress that it causes adds greatly to the overall

tensions that are building up within all prisons across the country. Attempting to locate

property is also greatly demanding of time and effort, and experienced prison officers are

often bogged down with hours of fruitless searching when they could be using that time to

much better effect on the units. Many items are never found and the cost of compensating

the owners is therefore a cost to the taxpayer. If the national property identification system

was improved then this waste of time, effort and money would be greatly reduced.

7.5 Building Maintenance

The Board is encouraged to see that a new and more efficient Head of Works was recently

appointed to Feltham by Carillion and he is beginning to address many of the ongoing

problems mentioned in this report. Over the year the Board has shared the prison

management’s frustration with the poor performance of Carillion, and some examples of

slowness in attending to essential repairs and maintenance are given in Section 16 of this

report. The Board will continue to monitor the state of the premises and the performance of

the contractor.

7.6 Acknowledgement

The Board wishes to acknowledge the immense effort that governors, senior staff and their

prison officer teams put in to improving the day to day regime and resettlement outcomes

for every young prisoner at Feltham. It is a monumental task as these are amongst the

most complex and disturbed young men in the country. Overall, the general culture at

Feltham, amongst all ranks of staff, is to continue to provide as positive and therapeutic an

environment as possible under extremely limited, unpredictable and often inefficient

circumstances. These efforts should be highly commended by the Minister, NOMS and the

YJB, as well as the wider public.


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8 ISSUE REQUIRING A RESPONSE FROM THE MINISTER

Staffing

Shortage of prison officers has been a problem at Feltham this year and the prisoners’

regime has undoubtedly suffered. Lack of staff on the units places extra pressure on

officers trying to provide the daily regime to young prisoners in a safe and decent way. As

the Board has previously noted, the role of the prisoner officer in the youth estate is

increasingly demanding, both physically and mentally, and the stress for many is too much.

A national recruitment campaign for new officers is now underway but the retention of

existing, experienced prison officers is clearly a growing issue.

What additional incentives will the Minister offer, not only to attract new prison

officers but to better value and retain existing officers?

9 ISSUE REQUIRING A RESPONSE FROM THE YJB

Specialist Units

As in previous reports the Board continues to express its grave concern regarding the high

level of violence at Feltham, particularly on the A-side. The Board commented last year,

and the year before, on the delays in establishing two specialised residential units for the

most disruptive Young People, the ESU (Enhanced Support Unit) and CSU (Care and

Separation Unit). The board believes that such units would assist in the safe management

of this very difficult group of prisoners, and would consequently improve the welfare of all

prisoners at Feltham. The Board is frustrated that there is the need to raise this issue again

given that in previous years it was already considered to be an urgent requirement.

Will the YJB give full assurance that the ESU and CSU specialist units will be

operational by mid-2017? If not, what resources will be made available to manage the

safe, humane and decent treatment of segregated Young People?

10 ISSUE REQUIRING A RESPONSE FROM NOMS

Property

Property loss is one of the most frequent subjects for applications to the Board. Prison staff

and IMB members spend a considerable amount of time trying to track down missing items

of property, most often without success. Reduced staffing in Reception areas has made

resolving these matters even more difficult. Property is an issue that was raised in last

year’s report and needs to be addressed across the whole prison estate to achieve an

effective solution.

What more can be done to ensure that all a prisoner’s property is reliably moved

with them when they are transferred between prisons or from court to prison?


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11 EQUALITIES

11.1 The Equalities team works hard with the very diverse population at Feltham to

ensure that discrimination is recognised quickly and that any such behaviour is challenged

and dealt with accordingly.

11.2 A dedicated Equalities meeting is held once a month at Feltham. It is usually well

attended with representatives from all areas in the prison, including prisoners themselves.

A representative from the IMB attends every month.

11.3 At every monthly meeting SMART data (the Equalities Monitoring tool) is analysed

and reviewed. This data is used to analyse areas such as complaints, IEPs, Enhanced and

Basic levels, segregation, adjudications and RoTL by ethnic grouping and sets expected

ranges against the current population of the prison. The data is compared to similar data

from other prisons to establish if it falls within the expected range for the current prison

population and whether there are issues that need to be addressed. Any area that is out of

expected range is brought to the attention of the meeting and any data that has been out of

expected range for three consecutive months is investigated and reported back on.

11.4 Over the reporting period there appeared to be a consistent under-representation of

black prisoners at Enhanced level and an over-representation of black prisoners on Basic

level for at least five months. This was investigated by the Equalities team who found that

the statistics were accurate when considering the population of the prison at the time and

the number of violent incidents that BME prisoners had been involved in. BME

representation with regards ROTL and IEP statistics were also investigated but no

significant anomalies were found.

11.5 About 40% of the population on both the A and B sides is Muslim with Christianity

making up the next largest group. Faith or no faith, all prisoners are given pastoral care by

the Chaplaincy department, and ministers from many religious faiths attend the prison on a

regular basis. The chaplaincy provides counselling for any prisoner wishing to find, explore

or change their faith whilst in Feltham.

11.6 This year saw the completion of the first Alpha Course at Feltham. It was very well

attended and a second course is now planned.

11.7 Many prisoners declare one or more disabilities on arrival at Feltham. These range

from dyslexia, ADHD, speech and language problems, social and emotional problems to

hearing impairment. Co-morbidity is also monitored. Feltham manages successfully to

address the varying needs of these prisoners, with constant awareness of issues and

dedicated days for certain disabilities. A dyslexia awareness day and a visit to the prison by

a blind lady were both well received by prisoners and staff.


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11.8 The number of Discrimination Incident Report Forms (DIRFs) submitted to the

Equalities team each month is also reported at the meeting and any concerns discussed.

Responses are usually prompt and certainly within the statutory time limit. Representatives

from the Zahid Mubarek Trust (ZMT) attend the prison monthly to quality check a sample

number of these reports.

11.9 There have been two or three openly gay prisoners in Feltham over the past year.

The Board acknowledges that they have been very well cared for by the Equalities team.

External agencies have also attended the prison. The West London Gay Men’s Group had

been attending Feltham regularly but have now stopped as they started charging for their

visits.

11.10 The population of Feltham is made up of a wide variety of nationalities. At the time

of writing there were 37 different nationalities recorded, including several prisoners from

Portugal, Somalia, Jamaica and Albania as well as The Netherlands and Ireland. This is an

increase on the previous reporting period when a total of 24 different nationalities were

housed in the prison.

11.11 On average there are around 80-90 foreign nationals in Feltham at any given time.

Two Home Office staff members attend the prison twice a week to meet with any foreign

national prisoners requiring their assistance.

11.12 Prisoner focus groups continue to make a welcome contribution to the monthly

Equalities meetings. Two prisoners usually attend and provide feedback from their peers on

a variety of subjects and issues that they are asked to raise.

12 EDUCATION, LEARNING AND SKILLS

Education A

12.1 Prospects has been responsible for education provision for YPs on Feltham A for

two years and considerable progress has been made in that time in terms of learner

achievement.

12.2 The education department is run by dedicated teaching staff who strive to provide

their pupils, who are still of statutory school age, with a fulfilling and meaningful curriculum.

They are often working against the odds and the IMB has monitored the impact that prison

staff shortages and learner absences have had during the reporting year.

12.3 From the beginning of the year Prospects did its best to implement the 30 hours of

classroom-based learning demanded by the government’s Transforming Youth Custody

(TYC) initiative and was well supported by prison management to achieve the target. The

timetabling of protected and unprotected time was always going to be difficult to manage


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within the core regime; however, the shortage of prison staff across the reporting period

proved to be one of the critical factors in preventing all YPs attending the education

department on a sufficiently consistent basis to achieve the 30-hour target.

12.4 Between the beginning of July and the end of September the number of lost

education hours in protected time alone represented about 10% of classroom-based

learning time. August alone saw an increase of almost 2,500 hours of authorised absences

from Education A due to late or non-delivery of YPs to education because of prison staff

shortages. In August, an average 26.8 classroom-based learner hours per YP were offered

by Prospects but the average number of hours delivered over the same month was just 8.5

per YP. Although there are always likely to be seasonal variations because of school

holidays impacting on staffing levels it was noted that the figures did not improve in

September or October which points to a greater problem with overall levels of security

staffing.

12.5 The primary reason given by prison staff for authorising non-attendance in

Education continued to be ‘incident response’ due to bad behaviour of YPs in the

classroom. This has had a negative effect on pupil progress, both for the YPs removed

from class for bad behaviour and those others whose learning is too often disrupted. The

IMB wholeheartedly endorses the need for intervention by NOMs and Safeguarding to work

more closely with the relatively small number of individuals who are most often disruptive.

12.6 A bold initiative was taken this year to lock the classroom doors whilst lessons were

in session to address the problem of a small number of prisoners leaving the classrooms to

attack others and thereby disrupting everyone’s time in education. This meant that teaching

staff were contained in the classrooms along with their learners and should be commended

for their confidence and professionalism. The outcome of this initiative was that many

vulnerable learners felt safer and attainment improved.

12.7 Education outreach provision to the units was severely impacted by prison staff

shortages. Officers are required not only to provide escorts for YPs going to Education,

they must also deal with those on ‘keep apart’ and single unlock back on the units. This

leaves a very limited window in the working day for the safe delivery of outreach provision

by teaching staff to those pupils kept behind on the units. In August, the average number of

weekly outreach hours offered by Prospects was 14.6 per YP but the number of hours

delivered was just 3.5.

12.8 A special effort was made by Prospects staff to reach YPs held on Ibis, the

segregation unit, by offering three face-to-face learning sessions a week.

12.9 All the lost hours, through prison staff shortages and YP non-attendance, have had

a negative impact on achievement data, which had been making steady upward progress

during the previous year. The proportion of classroom hours lost to incident response and


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late or non-delivery has severely impacted on the Prospects target of ensuring that at least

70% of learners made good progress.

12.10 Despite these problems, the Board noted that Prospects has continued to offer as

wide and interesting a curriculum as possible. It has created a strong link with Feltham

Community College and is hoping to provide several boys with the chance to do the full

GCSE English curriculum on RoTL. Maths next if all goes well.

12.11 Learners are asked to give detailed feedback on a quarterly basis which is then

carefully evaluated by Prospects. In the final quarter of this academic year an encouraging

89% of classroom based learners felt safe in the classroom, 95% understood what was

expected of them in education and 60% were actively aware of their targets. However, only

half the learners felt they were fully supported to complete exams and 40% said they had

not been given the pathway that they had chosen.

12.12 The outreach feedback from the same quarter showed that 88% of learners felt safe

in the outreach classroom and 96% understood what was expected of them. However, 31%

of learners did not wish to be on outreach.

12.13 A brand new and innovative Advisory Governing Body was established at Feltham

this year with some very able, experienced members on board as well as senior

management of the prison. This group meets quarterly to receive the reports from

Prospects and help give a strategic overview of the educational provision for the young

people under its care.

12.14 Regular poetry and prose competitions are held and there are now more entrants

than ever. All staff and visitors to the café are encouraged to view the entries on display

there and vote for the winner. The standard of writing is sometimes impressively good.

12.15 Incentive passports were this year issued to good effect. YPs were required to

collect a total of 66 stamps from teachers and unit staff for progress and attainment,

attitude and effort, respect and teamwork, unit behaviour and independent study. This was

a challenge for many of them. Small rewards were offered to those who completed their

passport and as a consequence the behaviour of some reluctant learners improved

substantially over the year.

12.16 Several problems in the education department have arisen due to the performance

of Carillion. The Catering and Hospitality curriculum could not be properly fulfilled since the

planned refurbishment of the Officers’ Mess fell through. The catering facilities bid for the

use of the Mess was approved by senior management but Carillion could not undertake the

work as it was not considered a priority. The work remains on the waiting list and a

complaint has been made against Carillion.


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Education B

12.17 The Board appreciates the hard work and commitment shown by Novus, the

educational provider for Education B at Feltham.

12.18 The biggest frustration has been that prisoners have been unable to attend

education and workshops due to a shortage of officers to escort them. In the month of

September alone1,830 hours of education and workshops were lost due to prison staff

shortages, and more than 7,000 hours were lost across that quarter. Teaching sessions

have had to be cancelled, often at short notice, leading to frustration and discontent. A

specially timetabled summer regime helped alleviate this, however staff shortages still

continue to have an adverse impact on education and workshops.

12.19 Staff shortages have also impacted on the library. When prisoners are unable to

attend, the librarian takes books to the units. This is much appreciated. A DVD loan

scheme for prisoners is popular, and self-financing.

12.20 On average the classes ran at only half full. Unit staff have not been giving IEPs or

reducing regime level to Basic when prisoners choose not to attend, with the result that

there have been no obvious consequences for them.

12.21 Functional Skills appears to be an unpopular option as it is often perceived by the

prisoners as a punishment. Staff are creating imaginative projects to incorporate the use of

Maths and English which demonstrate their importance and relevance to the learners.

12.22 Unemployment has been reduced to only 24 YAs. 19 prisoners are not suitable to

work due to being on Safe Systems of Work (SSoW), full Individual Support Plans (ISPs) or

Keep Apart.

12.23 Issues with Carillion continue to cause problems for the Education department.

There appears to be an impasse whereby staff don’t wish to waste time getting a quote for

works if funding will not allow, but equally they cannot decide on funding allocations until

they know the true cost. Education staff now say that they shelve any projects which might

involve Carillion as the whole process is too complicated and lengthy. This inevitably

affects the smooth running of the department.

The Library

12.24 Feltham has a well-stocked library with very committed staff who take an active

interest in the prisoners for whom they provide a service. The librarian has engaged many

prisoners through various activities such as book reviewing competitions throughout the

year. The library has also initiated a DVD club as an extra benefit for A and B side

prisoners on Enhanced status. When there have been problems with A-side units getting to

the library, evening sessions and a trolley service have been organised to cater for them.

The trolley service also serves prisoners attending workshops, visits and other

appointments who would otherwise miss their library sessions.


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13 PURPOSEFUL ACTIVITY

13.1 Wherever possible, prisoners are allocated paid jobs within the prison. These

include duties such as cleaning or serving food on the residential units. Elsewhere within

the prison, prisoners may deliver and sort laundry, work as gym orderlies, work in the

kitchens or library – or work in a variety of other ways.

13.2 As far as practicable, work is meant to provide useful experience and lead to formal

qualifications although in many cases such qualifications will be at a relatively low level.

13.3 Prisoners nearer to release may be granted Release on Temporary Licence (RoTL)

to attend college or gain work experience with outside employers.

13.4 It is unfortunate that there have been several occasions during the year when low

staffing levels have limited the range of work duties outside the residential units.

Workshops

13.5 On the 'A' side there are three workshops - Multi Skills, Motor Workshop, and

Gardening. The Multi Skills workshop is an Open College Network Programme in Health &

Safety, Painting, Tiling, and Plumbing. 40 prisoners have completed this six-week course

this year. The Motor workshop provides an Entry Level 1 in Fluids, Health & Safety, Tyres,

and Engine Components and 151 prisoners achieved one or more of these units.

Unfortunately, the Gardening workshop has not been operational this year because of staff

shortages.

13.6 The B Side workshops have continued to perform well this year. The addition of an

Industrial Cleaning course in March allowed a total of 34 prisoners to complete the course,

each obtaining a certificate issued by the Institute of Cleaning and Science.

13.7 Bricklaying workshop numbers were reduced this year from 16 to 12 prisoners, but

it still issued 183 certificates of completion.

13.8 The Music Technology workshop takes seven to ten prisoners on a four-week

course for a Level 1 certificate in music technology.

13.9 The Recycling workshop takes up to eight prisoners and handles the recycling of

bedlinen, mattresses, and kettles and TVs. A recent new initiative is the recycling of worn

out staff boots, which are repaired, sanitised, new insoles inserted, and sent off for re-use.

The workshop handles the boots from not only Feltham, but also HMP Wormwood Scrubs;

and to date over 1,000 pairs have been processed.

13.10 The Computer workshop takes up to 15 prisoners on courses ranging from three

weeks to three months, leading to Basic Level 2 IT skills.


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13.11 The Board was disappointed that many prisoners - up to approximately 50% on the

'A' side – do not seem interested in completing the courses but regard them only as a

means of getting out of their cells and off the units.

13.12 The gym department continues its good work. Football and rugby courses are held

twice a year over a twelve-week period. Each course takes 16 prisoners, which allows up

to 64 each year to complete the courses. The gym holds Active IQ Gym Institution courses

which are held over a ten-week period during the year; 20 prisoners successfully completed

the course this year.

13.13 Feltham B takes part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and this year ten

prisoners successfully completed one or more of the awards. The prison also takes part in

the Airborne initiative. This is a one-week residential course held by the Parachute

Regiment on Salisbury Plain. Six prisoners attend together with others from various

prisons. The course is run eight times a year.

14 RESETTLEMENT AND OMU

14.1 Various agencies operate within Feltham to help prepare prisoners for release. This,

for example, includes assistance where necessary, with finding housing. In some cases

boys are allowed Release on Temporary Licence (RoTL) to allow attendance at college

courses or work experience. Some of the vocational courses offered at Feltham provide at

least some basic qualifications that may assist in finding employment.

14.2 On the B-side, Catch 22, contracting as a Community Rehabilitation Company

(CRC), is the main provider of resettlement services at Feltham, working in conjunction with

the Offender Management Unit (OMU) and various other contracting agencies. The

process starts for every prisoner with an assessment plan 12 weeks before release.

Various contracting agencies specialise in specific aspects of resettlement. Advice is also

offered to prisoners in matters of finance, benefits and debt, as well as helping with setting

up bank accounts, referring to charities for help with debts, dealing with outstanding court

fines and claiming benefits.

14.3 Until now there has been little follow up to determine how successful the

resettlement help has been but the CRC is intending to try to gather such information in

future. This seems likely to be a useful initiative if implemented.

14.4 On the A-side caseworkers take the lead with resettlement working in conjunction

with Social Services and Youth Offender Teams (YOTs). The process starts with an initial

sentence meeting to discuss resettlement needs and continues through the prisoner’s time

in Feltham with all arrangements in place ten days prior to release. There are fewer outside


17

agencies involved but Only Connect works with prisoners on education and training issues.

The involvement of Social Services and YOTs means there is continuity after release.

14.5 Offender supervisors in OMU are responsible for sentence planning at Feltham.

The board has previously commented on two issues - complaints from prisoners about not

being seen by their offender supervisors - and the backlog of OASys completions.

14.6 There is a core group of full-time offender supervisors but officers working on

residential units sometimes perform the offender supervisor role. It is this latter group about

which most complaints of lack of contact come, possibly because of the demands of their

other duties.

14.7 OASys is meant to record relevant information about prisoners and be the basis of

assessing risk and sentence planning. The backlog in OASys is apparently a national

problem. The backlog has apparently improved at Feltham but still stands at about 64%

(previously as high as 89%). In the case of higher risk prisoners (the responsibility of

Probation), about 34% are currently uncompleted.

15 HEALTHCARE AND MENTAL HEALTH

15.1 The IMB is pleased to report that it has been another successful year for healthcare

delivery in Feltham and the board would like to compliment all the staff involved. Healthcare

is delivered across the prison in a timely and appropriate way. Clinical appointments are

organised so that prisoners are treated without undue delay. Out-patient and emergency

hospital admissions are co-ordinated with the prison staff to provide escorts and bed

watches. Clinical staff visit all units regularly to dispense medicine and assess individual

needs. Medical services are provided on a separate Primary Care unit and meet the

required standards of privacy and appropriateness.

15.2 Prisoners with acute mental health problems are generally attended to in a timely

way by CMHT and the prison’s in-house psychology team. There are sometimes worryingly

long delays in the transfer to secure hospitals of those YPs and YAs with the most severe

and deteriorating mental health issues, but this is not for the want of trying by personnel at

Feltham. The Board has monitored the care and welfare of several patients on Wren unit

this year until they have finally achieved a suitable transfer.

15.3 Overall prisoners enjoy a good and co-operative relationship with the medical teams

at Feltham.

15.4 The ‘Time to Quit’ programme was launched this year to comply with the

government’s requirement that all prisons are now ‘smoke free’. This is now a 12-week

programme with reviews and incentives every four weeks ending with the YAs receiving a


18

T-shirt and a family day visit. The current success rate is 68%. Four alternatives are now

offered - nicotine patches, e-cigarettes, lozenges and nasal sprays. The number of smoking

clinics has had to be increased.

15.5 The success of this programme was recognised as Care UK at Feltham once again

came runners-up in the 2016 Health and Justice Awards for this initiative.

15.6 A recent staff survey by Care UK reported that 96% of staff feel they make a

difference to the healthcare of the young people in Feltham. A highly professional

atmosphere is apparent on entering the unit making it a very positive part of the prison.

15.7 Plans are underway to appoint ‘healthcare champions’ on each of the residential

units and a job description has been agreed. It is hoped that once trained these young men

can help promote the various initiatives so improving the health of all prisoners.

15.8 Sexual health clinics are now run every day by three dedicated nursing staff. A

consultant also visits every few weeks to review the more complex cases.

15.9 The digital X-ray machine is soon to be installed so that patients can be pre-

assessed thus preventing an unnecessary visit to hospital. This will also provide a

screening service for TB for all in Feltham.

15.10 The healthcare team has plans for many new developments to improve the health

of all the young men in Feltham. However, these plans continue to be severely hampered

by the outdated IT systems operating in the prison which is a constant cause of frustration

to all. The board will continue to monitor this problem over the coming year.

16 SAFER CUSTODY

16.1 The Board welcomes the fact that the prison has structures in place to help ensure

the safety of prisoners and senior management is committed to promoting safety for all.

16.2 The Safeguarding Group and Anti-Social Behaviour Team (ASBT) are dedicated

groups of officers operating within Feltham to gather intelligence on gang issues and to

provide support to both staff and prisoners to limit violent incidents.

16.3 Despite all efforts, it must be recognised that fights and assaults are frequent

occurrences at Feltham which, several times this year, have resulted in serious injuries to

both staff and prisoners requiring hospital treatment and time off work.

16.4 Shortage of staff may well be a key factor in exposing officers to greater danger of

assault and it must be considered a risk factor in many instances.


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16.5 An aspect of safety that sometimes comes to the attention of the Board involves

cases where prisoners have requested transfer to another prison because of concerns for

their own safety. The board is aware of the measures that Feltham has in place to

recognise and manage such risks. However, particularly where a prisoner’s fears for his

personal safety appear to be well founded, the efficient transfer to another establishment

should not depend solely on the willingness, or otherwise, of the receiving prison to accept

him.

16.6 In last year’s report the Board identified use of illegal drugs as a concern at

Feltham. Staff have had many successes this year in detecting and curtailing the import of

drugs and other illegal items into the prison.

16.7 Whenever drugs are suspected of being used in a cell there is sometimes a delay in

organising a cell search This is sometimes due to a shortage of available staff, but may

also happen when staff are not fully trained in the most recent cell search procedures. This

time lapse can mean that potential evidence is destroyed before a search can be initiated.

The Security department is aware of this problem and has been addressing it throughout

the year.

16.8 Serious assaults on staff continue and this is of major concern to the Board. During

the year, several staff members have suffered injuries serious enough to necessitate

immediate hospital treatment followed by extended sick leave. The consequence of these

incidents further exacerbates the overall staffing shortage and leads to low morale amongst

staff.

16.9 This year the Board welcomed the arrival of officers from the Metropolitan Police

Trident team, who are now permanently based at Feltham. The team expedited the

prosecution of several prisoners responsible for a serious assault on a member of staff.

They also work with the prisoners who are affiliated with gangs.

17 SEGREGATION, CARE AND SEPARATION

17.1 The Segregation, Care & Separation Unit is located on Ibis unit and is used to

accommodate both YP and YA prisoners. The layout of the unit, with cells facing one other

on a long corridor, means that YPs and YAs often shout at and interact with each other

through cell doors and windows, making for a very noisy, and sometimes hostile

environment. With officers’ offices being at one end only, this also means that interaction

by/with staff is less easy.

17.2 The physical environment of Ibis unit is somewhat stark with limited facilities, not

conducive to the rehabilitation culture that the unit should promote. Recent and welcome


20

improvements have been the provision of wind-up radios to all prisoners who would like

them and the ordering of a new library trolley.

17.3 The IMB continues to regard the provision of a specialist Care and Separation Unit

(CSU), for YPs only, to be an urgent requirement. After a good deal of discussion, planning

and financial pledges by the YJB the IMB understands that there is still no definite plan, nor

funding, for this much-needed facility.

17.4 There was a decrease in the number of YPs accommodated onto Ibis in 2015/16

(327 YPs this year compared to 423 last year), but with an increased length of average stay

(3.1 days compared to 2.6 in the previous year).

17.5 There was an increase in the number of YAs accommodated onto Ibis in 2015/16

(407 YAs this year compared to 313 last year), together with an increase in the length of

average stay (3.5 days from 2.5).

17.6 The Board has expressed concern at the number of prisoners who in 2015/16 spent

more than 21 days in segregation on Ibis (20 YPs and 6YAs). The Board was satisfied that

correct procedures were observed throughout, however it is understood that delays in

returning some prisoners back to normal residential units was due to ongoing safety/keep

apart issues. The resolution of this situation continues to be hampered by the absence of a

re-integration or similar unit at Feltham. These long stays on segregation continue to give

cause for concern to the Board and may be regarded as inhumane and unacceptable.

17.7 Board members have experienced some difficulty throughout the year in

ascertaining in advance the scheduled time for GOoD reviews, which take place on Ibis

unit, meaning that IMB attendance has sometimes proved impossible. On several

occasions a Board member has arrived in Ibis at a designated time, only to find the GOoD

reviews had been concluded. This has been raised on several occasions with unit staff,

who do their best to be helpful, but are often themselves unaware as to when the

designated Governor will carry out the reviews. IMB members are also concerned that

Healthcare is not always present at GOoD reviews.

17.8 Except as mentioned above the Board is satisfied with the conditions, facilities,

regime staffing and security on Ibis, and that paperwork is properly kept and up to date.

17.9 The Board is satisfied that a member of the Board is informed within 24 hours of

moves on to Ibis for GOoD and use of special accommodation. Board members can speak

freely with residents on Ibis and do so several times a week.

17.10 As mentioned the Board has concerns regarding receiving correct notice of review

boards, and the attendance at them of a Healthcare representative. The Board is satisfied

that the necessary information is available and that YPs and YAs have an opportunity to

make representations in person.


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17.11 The Board is satisfied with the way cellular confinement, special accommodation

and mechanical restraints have been used and any dirty protests handled.

17.12 The Board’s concerns regarding ‘long stayers’ on Ibis are noted above. The Board

is satisfied that prisoners with mental health issues are visited by CMHT staff. A member

of the Board regularly attends SMARG meetings.

Single unlock on residential units

17.13 Some prisoners, while remaining on their normal residential unit (as opposed to

being on the Segregation unit), are on “Single Unlock” status. That is, they are only allowed

out of their cells for showers or exercise when no other prisoner is out of cell. Single unlock

is therefore a form of segregation. It is the Board’s view that it should only be applied for

reasons of safety - either to protect others from the prisoner on single unlock - or for the

safety of the individual himself.

17.14 On several occasions members noted that some unit staff have referred to

prisoners being on single unlock as a punishment rather than for reasons of safety. The

Board must accept assurances from Governors that this is a matter of misunderstandings

by unit staff. However, it considers that more attention is needed to ensure that single

unlock is used only where it is unavoidable and that every effort should be made to limit the

time any individual spends on single unlock even in cases of self-isolation.

17.15 The board recognises that there may sometimes be need for such measures but

has some concerns that the formal procedures such as Adjudication for Cellular

Confinement or GOoD reviews do not apply to single unlock and therefore may not be

being followed. This is of particular concern in cases where some prisoners have

reportedly been on single unlock for extended periods of time, sometimes a matter of

weeks.

17.16 There is a further concern that in residential units with several prisoners on single

unlock, the staff are often placed under additional stress and experience some difficulty in

delivering the normal regime to the other prisoners.

17.17 The board will continue to monitor prisoners on single unlock status on residential

units over the coming year.


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18 RESIDENTIAL SERVICES

Kitchens

18.1 Feltham benefits from an experienced and effective Food Services Manager.

However, low catering staff numbers and difficulties with recruitment have presented

significant problems.

Food

18.2 The Kitchens team conducted a questionnaire in April which asked prisoners for

their views on portion sizes and food choice. The response rate was high and feedback

was generally positive. Several prisoners continue to say to the IMB that they would like

more seasoning and condiments such as salt and pepper, or hot and spicy sauces, to be

added to the food.

18.3 Early in the year tinned tuna was removed from the canteen list. Several prisoners

raised this as a concern to the IMB. Senior management reported this was due to the risk

of the tin itself being fashioned into a makeshift weapon. Following a security review tuna is

once again available across the prison.

Accommodation

18.4 The aging infrastructure of the whole Feltham estate continues to cause problems,

particularly relating to plumbing and electrics.

18.5 The failure of Carillion to respond to facilities issues in a timely manner continues to

be a significant concern. This has been regularly reported to the IMB and is most

particularly a concern in relation to blocked and malfunctioning toilets in cells.

18.6 The overall shortage of accommodation within Feltham is often a problem for cell

allocation on residential units given the large number of prisoners who need to be

separated from one another for their own safety.

18.7 A shortage of TVs and kettles was reported to the IMB throughout the year but has

now been satisfactorily resolved.

Visits

18.8 Staffing shortages and issues around protected and unprotected time has affected

Young People and Young Adults’ access to visits. This is a concern repeatedly raised to

the IMB and causes the prisoners’ disappointment.

18.9 Security issues within the Visits area remain a concern, with several visitors having

been caught with contraband items.


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18.10 A new café is being planned for the Feltham B Visits area. Like the existing one on

A Side the café will serve drinks and snacks and provide work experience opportunities to

some prisoners where they receive training as baristas.

Visitors’ Centre

18.11 Over this year there was an acute shortage of locker space for visitors as a result of

broken lockers not being mended or replaced. This was causing some concern on Family

Days but has now been addressed.

19 PRISON MAINTENANCE

19.1 The Board has been increasingly dismayed by the overall condition of the prison

during the reporting period. Whilst senior management has endeavoured to brighten up the

corridors and units with new notices and attractive displays, and a successful effort was

made to eliminate the severe rodent problem of last year there are still some serious

maintenance issues that should be addressed urgently.

19.2 The flat roof in Visitors’ Centre has been leaking for months. The cleaner has a

choice between using her bucket for cleaning or catching rainwater as she is unable to

obtain a replacement bucket.

19.3 There is a damp problem in the bag search area with plaster bubbling off the wall

and condensation inside the poster boards. Staff have been complaining of ill health due to

exposure to damp.

19.4 Kitchen staff have been working in severely reduced lighting levels as the

replacement of broken light fittings has not been carried out despite frequent requests. The

replacement work shows on the Carillion system as ‘job completed’ when it hasn’t been.

19.5 Urgent repairs to heating equipment in the kitchens was also requested in the

summer but still has not been done. This area is now unacceptably cold.

19.6 Issues with Carillion continue to cause problems for the Education department. An

estimate requested for work to the roof proved to be ten times the amount anticipated and

came with no clear breakdown of the costs.

19.7 An estimate for work on an electrical engineering workshop was requested six

months ago, but has still not been provided with the result that the workshop cannot go

ahead.


24

19.8 It took 18 months to obtain clearance to put in electric sockets into the Education B

department as Carillion told them “there may be an annual cost to maintaining plug

sockets”. The application had to go to the National Board which took a further two months

to be agreed.

19.9 It is the Board’s view that Carillion has also failed to properly maintain areas of the

grounds, particularly the approach to the prison which is often strewn with uncollected litter

from overflowing bins.

20 PROPERTY

20.1 As has been noted in several previous years’ reports, missing property continues to

be a frequent cause for complaints. In most cases prisoners’ property goes missing during

transfers from one prison to another and, all too frequently, that property is never found or

restored to its owner. This is, of course, the cause of considerable frustration and distress

to prisoners but also results in much unnecessary work for prison staff and the IMB. A

better system to keep track of property is desperately needed and would be to the benefit

of all - staff as well as prisoners.

21 BOARD DEVELOPMENT

21.1 The IMB at Feltham has continued its practice of inviting guest speakers, often

senior and specialist members of prison staff, to address the board most months on various

aspects of prison management. This year a spokesman from the Prison Ombudsman

attended to update the Board on its role within the youth estate. The Board is very grateful

to all the guests who have helped inform and update members.

21.2 The Board held an annual training day to focus on all aspects of its monitoring role

with special reference to the recently published National Monitoring Framework.

21.3 With eight departures during the reporting period through resignation and

retirement, the board has tried to recruit to maintain a suitable number of members. Two

members from the previous intake were confirmed in their posts this year. One member

joined and left within the scope of the reporting period. Following a recruitment campaign in

the summer two new members are still awaiting appointment by the Minister.


25

22 BOARD STATISTICS

Recommended Complement of Board Members 20

Number of Board members at the start of the reporting period 17

Number of Board members at the end of the reporting period 10

Total number of visits to the Establishment 475

Total number of segregation reviews attended 85


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A SIDE APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE IMB 2015-16

Code Subject Current reporting year

Previous reporting year

A Accommodation inc. laundry, clothing, ablutions

3 3

B Discipline inc. adjudications, IEP, sanctions 5 2

C Equality 1 1

D Purposeful Activity inc. education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell

1 5

E 1 Letters, visits, phones, public protection restrictions 2 1

E 2 Finance inc. pay, private monies, spends 2 1

F Food and kitchens 0 0

G Health inc physical, mental, social care 1 2

H 1 Property within this establishment 1 2

H 2 Property during transfer or in another establishment or location

6 4

H 3 Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) 1 0

I Sentence management inc HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation

3 2

J Staff/prisoner concerns inc bullying 2 4

K Transfers 1 3

Total number of IMB applications 29 30


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B SIDE APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE IMB 2015-16

*This figure represents a cumulative total of applications which were listed under different categories in the previous year’s annual report

Code Subject Current reporting year

Previous reporting year

A Accommodation inc. laundry, clothing, ablutions

16 12

B Discipline inc. adjudications, IEP, sanctions 44* 1

C Equality 9 5

D Purposeful Activity inc. education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell

15 19

E 1 Letters, visits, phones, public protection restrictions 16 17

E 2 Finance inc. pay, private monies, spends 6 6

F Food and kitchens 3 3

G Health inc physical, mental, social care 8 13

H 1 Property within this establishment 19 18

H 2 Property during transfer or in another establishment or location

48 21

H 3 Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) 8 8

I Sentence management inc HDC, ROTL, parole, release dates, re-categorisation

33 18

J Staff/prisoner concerns inc bullying 25 21

K Transfers 24 21

Total number of IMB applications 274 183


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